Kate (The Dimarco Series Book 5)

by Jennifer Hanks

  He narrowed his eyes. “What’d they say?”

  I took a deep breath. “They have a new informant in the Black Widows. She said they lit the fire that burned down Kate’s house. Way to send me a message to back off.”

  He shook his head and leaned down, his arms resting on top of the wooden rail. “Fuck.”

  “Yeah.”

  “They’re fucking crazy.” Jake said.

  “They are. That’s why I’ve been trying to shut them down for so long.”

  Jake nodded like something just occurred to him. “That’s why Brody’s alarming everyone’s house.”

  I frowned. “Yeah, just a precaution for now until we hear where they’re headed after that shit.”

  Jake gestured with his head towards my house. “Kate know?”

  I shook my head. “No.”

  His eyes widened. “You gonna tell her?”

  “I don’t want to man, but I have to. Was just waiting to see if we know anything else before I put more shit on her.”

  “You think she’s tough enough to handle the shit that comes with your job?”

  I shrugged. “I guess I’m gonna find out, but if she isn’t then I’m out.”

  He stood and leaned his hip against the rail. “Out?”

  I took a drink from my cup. “I’ll leave the force.”

  His jaw dropped open. My brothers know how much my job means to me, but it’s nothing compared to what Kate and Andy mean. “You sure that’s what you want? I mean, I’ve never heard you talk about wanting anything else.”

  I tossed the small amount of coffee left in my cup out in the grass. “I want Kate. I want Andy. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep them.”

  Jake’s eyes flicked between mine. “But leave the force, man?”

  I ran my hand along the back of my neck. “What would you give up for Lanie?”

  He nodded, understanding crossing his face. “Every fucking thing.”

  I smiled, knowing that was true because I’d watched them together. I leaned down, putting my elbows on the wood atop the railing. “Thanks for taking Andy last night, and Cookie.”

  Jake shook his head. “That damn dog is crazy. He ran around with pants hanging out of his mouth all night, the boys chasing him, like it was some kind of fucking game. Got the puppy all riled up, hell even Beasley joined in and that fucker’s the definition of a couch potato.” I laughed along with him. He was right, Cookie was crazy and since he learned Andy will chase him around if he steals his pants, that’s all he does. “Although all that commotion had Lanie running around after kids and dogs and I got to watch, so maybe I should be thanking you man.”

  I backed up, grinning, happy to see my little brother was completely back to himself. Of all my brothers, he’d had the hardest time after the shooting. “Call me when Andy’s awake.”

  “You got it brother.” Jake said, turning to face the yard again while I let myself back into my house.

  I’d only just gotten back into the kitchen when I heard my phone beep telling me I had an incoming text. I searched the room, smiling when I finally found my pants laying on the living room floor. Digging in the front pocket, I pulled my phone out and wondered when the last time was that I’d gone hours without checking it for messages or updates from the station. I couldn’t remember.

  Jax: Meet. Hanks at ten.

  Me: You need me there?

  Jax: That’s why I’m texting you brother.

  I chuckled envisioning the look on his face at having to answer stupid questions, a question he would also be asking if he’d had a night like I’d had and was anxious to get back there. But as I thought about it, I knew he wouldn’t be calling a meeting on a Sunday if he could avoid it, which means he has information I need.

  I looked at the time and frowned. It was already seven, that only gave me a little over two hours with Kate before I’d have to get dressed and go.

  Me: I’ll be there.

  I typed out my answer while I made my way back to the bedroom. I only had two hours. I sure as hell wasn’t going to waste any time.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  LUKE

  The heavy steel door slammed shut behind me and Cam when we walked into Hanks. I blinked a few times to adjust my eyes from the intense sun to the dimly lit space. Scanning the large area, I saw Jax and Brody leaning against the bar, Pike behind it, all talking to Bear and Gunner standing a few feet from my brothers with their arms over their chests.

  All eyes came to me and I gritted my teeth. I’ve always trusted my instincts and my instincts today when I received the text from Brody to meet here were that I was not going to like what I was about to be told.

  “This our new meeting place?” Cam called out.

  “Better than others.” Bear smirked. “At least here I can get a fucking drink.”

  “We’re here because you don’t want us anywhere near your clubhouse.” I said sarcastically.

  Bear narrowed his eyes. “That’s a favor I do for the both of us, brother. I’m sure the department doesn’t want you seen associating with the likes of us.”

  “It’s smart in this case for all sides to meet somewhere neutral.” Jax said, pushing himself off the bar to stand tall. “We all have a personal interest in what’s happening, it’s either affecting us now or will be, so it’s smart to work together, but to keep it about three sides coming together.” He looked between Bear and I. “You two are not going to see eye-to-eye, but the truth is you need to work together to shut the Widows down and shut them down for good.”

  “What he’s saying is pull up your big boy pants, leave your opinions of each other at the door and work together to get these fuckers off our streets.”

  All heads shifted towards Brody, who was usually quiet at these meetings, the type that only spoke when there was something to be said. I guess he felt it was one of those times.

  Bear nodded. “Agree.” He angled his body to face the room. “I asked Pike to arrange this because we have news and we need to talk about the fall-out in person, as a group.” He looked directly at me. “We don’t usually work with anyone outside the club, you know that better than anyone, but this shit’s affecting people we respect who don’t live in our world and we’ve offered our help.” He scanned the group. “Last night, we followed through on that offer.”

  “How?” Jax asked.

  “We interrupted a shipment coming in, one we’d heard about.”

  “From Maggie?” I asked.

  He nodded. “She’d overheard the conversation and brought the information to us.”

  “How?”

  “Doesn’t matter. We got it.”

  “Drugs?” Cam asked.

  Bear nodded. “Big shipment, one that will make an impact on their club and their profits.”

  “That puts you right in the middle of this shit, brother. Right where you didn’t want to be.” Pike spoke up from his position behind the bar.

  “We weren’t there, none of my boys laid a finger on that shipment.” He put his hands on his hips. “There’s a Mexican gang that’s been fighting for territory for a while, we made sure that information found its way to them.”

  “Can that come back on you?” Pike asked.

  He shook his head. “Nobody knows who leaked the information, as of now. It wouldn’t be an easy trail to follow, plus the Widows will already have their hands full, hopefully too full to find the leak.”

  “What does this mean for their club?” Brody asked.

  “The gang stole hundreds of thousands of dollars-worth of product right from under their noses. With a little information from us, they intercepted the shipment before it even made it to the meeting point for the Widows. We basically started a war between the Black Widows and the gang.” He held up his hand when my mouth opened, stopping me from speaking. “This gang has been up in their shit and ours for years. It was bound to happen, I just lit a fire under it. For us,” Bear gestured between him and Gunner. “it’s a win-win. We distract the W
idows from you and get the gang to leave our territory alone.”

  “How did you get that information in their hands?” Cam asked.

  “Doesn’t matter.” Bear said. “We did what we had to do to make it happen.”

  I stepped forward. “This how you operate your club now? Have the gangs battle, kill each other off, do all the dirty work?”

  Bear’s jaw tightened. “Shit’s messy, brother, you know that. You walk these streets same as I do. You want us to have a clean club like we do, but you don’t like the way we keep it clean. You can’t have it both ways and to be honest, you don’t get to have a fucking opinion on how I run my club.” His eyes flicked around the room. “If you have a problem with that, then we’ll all walk away from each other, no hard feelings, but I’ll expect you to stay on your side of the street.” He looked directly at me and Cam. “And you know what I mean, officers.” He gestured towards Pike. “I’m doing all of this for my brothers, the ones in the MC and not.” His eyes flicked to Cam. “I’m trying to get your man out alive, which is not fucking easy and you’re bitching about how I’m doing it.” He put his hands on his hips. “He’s not getting out of there without my club’s involvement, man, not breathing any way.”

  “I appreciate what you’re trying to do for Nick.” Cam said. “I shouldn’t need to say that, but we’re cops man, in our souls that’s what we are and you’re asking us to look the other way while a war is going on,” Cam motioned between us. “one that you started and we know about. How the fuck are we supposed to do that?”

  When Gunner started speaking, the room went still. He was another man who didn’t say much, but when he did it was usually something that needed to be said.

  “The Widows brag about the fire, Maggie told us, said they wish your woman had been home so they could’ve played with her before they tied her to a chair and lit up her house.” Gunner stared at me while he talked, knowing the effect his words were having. I clenched my fists at my sides, trying to control my anger. “The initiation into the gang we just set up to take the Widows wrath, is rape.” The room went completely still at that, a room full of men built to protect being told the shit that was happening in their own town, would never stand.

  It wasn’t going to end well.

  “The leader of the gang,” Gunner continued, “wears the name of two girls, both thirteen years old tattooed on his skin to show why he’s their leader. The initiation is one girl, he took two.” His eyes burned into mine. “Neither of the girls survived, Detective. I’ll bet if you think back, their story hit your desk at one time.”

  I clenched my jaw so hard I was surprised my teeth didn’t break because I did remember that case from a few years ago. I remember that night like it was fucking yesterday. Two girls, raped, beaten and strangled. Left for dead in an alley, laying together in the trash, covered in blood and semen. Two innocent little girls who’d been walking home from soccer practice, their parents had told us after they’d been asked to identify the bodies. Two little girls who had no idea their lives would be taken for the sole purpose of gaining leadership in a gang.

  Gunner stepped forward. “These are the men you’re trying to protect, man. They’re violent, they’re fucking crazy and no one is safe while any of them is breathing the same air we are.” He motioned between himself and Bear. “The only way to keep our club clean and get the fucking filth off the streets is to pit them against each other.”

  “And if they find out you’re responsible?” I asked, already knowing the answer.

  Gunner leaned forward, fire burning in his eyes. “They won’t.”

  I took a step towards him. “If. They. Do.”

  “Then our club will go to war.” Bear stepped up to stand beside Gunner. “There’ll be no fall back on you. We’re capable, we’re equipped, we’re always fucking ready to defend what we believe in and we will not lose, but a war like that will have a lot of casualties and I’m afraid it won’t stop with the members of the clubs.”

  I knew that. Innocent people in the wrong place at the wrong time would be casualties, the same is true with any war and I could not let that happen. “Why would you do any of this?”

  Bear smirked. “We like Kate.”

  I clenched my fists, even knowing he was trying to get a rise out of me, it still pissed me off.

  “It’s personal.” Gunner said.

  Bear’s head snapped his way, surprise evident on his face. “Brother—”

  Gunner shook his head and took another step towards me. “You wanna know why my club’s putting their asses on the line, Detective?”

  I lifted my chin in his direction. “Why?”

  “Because they’re my brothers. The club you think so little of is stepping up and taking my back. This fight is personal. I’ve been watching, waiting patiently for the right time to attack. The right time is now. We can take out two of the biggest threats by handing them the ammunition.”

  I slid my gaze from Gunners to Bear’s, took a step forward putting us face-to-face, the tension in the room heavy behind me. “Do what you need to do to keep my family safe. To keep your club safe.” I flicked my hand back at Cam. “We were never here.”

  “Understood.” Bear said.

  I put my hand out and watched Bear’s eyes flick down before meeting mine again. We held the stare for what felt like a long time before he put his hand in mine and shook it. We come from two very different sides of the law, but today we came to an understanding. Today, we came together to protect our families and as much as I wanted to find fault with their method, all I cared about was keeping my family safe and my streets clean. He knew my hands were tied. I wasn’t getting near any of them without his help and I wasn’t too proud to admit I needed it. “Stay safe.”

  Bear nodded. “You too brother.”

  “Keep Maggie safe.”

  “Doing everything I can to make sure there’s not a mark on that girl,” he said, and I believed him. He hated the Widows even more than I did if that was possible and from watching Gunner I could only imagine the reason he hates them with the intensity he so obviously does. I had no doubt that shit would surface through all of this.

  It always does.

  I nodded again and backed up to stand beside Cam. I looked at my brothers lined up like sentry’s behind me and Cam. “Keep me updated.”

  “With what we can.” Brody promised and I didn’t argue. Some of the shit they do, I shouldn’t know and neither should Cam.

  We made our way to the door and I turned back when my name was called out. I sought out Pike, who had been quiet, up until now. “We’ll keep you out of this. We know what being a cop means to you.”

  I let my eyes wander the room before coming back to Pike. “I’m a cop. I’m a cop in a way I’ve never known how to be anything else, never wanted to be anything else.” I lowered my voice and even to my ears realized it sounded menacing. “But make no mistake, if any harm comes to anyone I love, I will take them out, one motherfucker at a time. And I will not regret it, I will not consider my actions, and I will no longer be a cop. Nothing, and I mean nothing, is more important to me than my family, so you do what you need to do, but know if it fails, I will do what I need to do.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  KATE

  “Have you set a date yet?”

  I glanced across the table at Gia who was looking at Sydney. Flicking my eyes around the table, I wondered how I ended up at Sunday dinner today. I was sure I’d told Luke no, but here I sit, so apparently he won.

  “Christmas.” Cam said nonchalantly.

  “Christmas?” My head turned towards Anna when she spoke. “As in, less than six months away?”

  “Ma, you guys planned a wedding for Gia and Brody in like a week or something. I’m sure six months would feel like years compared to that.”

  “Why are you in such a hurry?” Anna asked what I’d been wondering.

  “Hurry?” Cam scowled. “I feel like it’s not fast enough.”

&nb
sp; Sydney rolled her eyes at Cam. “We didn’t decide on Christmas for sure. It was just something we’d talked about.”

  He shrugged. “I like it. Plus, I won’t sweat my damn balls off like I did at Jax’s wedding.”

  Jax smirked. “Did that just for you, man.”

  “What’s balls daddy?” Mia asked in her sweet little girl voice.

  Jax scowled at Cam while Kasey tilted her head back to look at the ceiling.

  “Seriously, boys.” Anna scolded. “Your awful language needs to stop in front of the kids.”

  “Mom, where do you think we learned all this shit?” Cam looked at Jack sitting at the head of the table beside Anna and smirked.

  Anna shook her head. “Your father did not talk like that around you boys.”

  Her eyes scanned the table and then she rubbed her fingers under her eyes, her gaze falling on Jack. “Jack?”

  He shook his head, but even I could tell he looked guilty. He slung his arm over the back of Anna’s chair and looked down at her, his smile charming. “Darlin’.”

  “Pop and Uncle Joe were always saying shit. Hell, I was Mia’s age when I heard way worse than balls.”

  My head snapped towards Jake who was grinning at his dad. Jack shook his head and glared at the boys around the table.

  “Daddy, what balls are sweaty?” Mia asked again, her voice more demanding this time.

  “She’s not going to let this go, Jax.” Kasey sighed.

  Jax groaned. “I can’t believe we’re going to bring another one into this family.”

  The table went silent, all heads turned towards Jax whose eyes were wide with Kasey staring at the side of his face. She rolled her eyes and faced the table. “Well, we were going to keep this to ourselves for another few weeks to make sure all is good, but Jax spilled the beans, so,” she smiled wide, “I’m pregnant.”

  The room pulsed with the energy this family was putting off in cheers and congratulations. I found myself excited just being a part of the announcement and I remembered when I’d found out I was pregnant with Andy. I wish I would’ve had a family like this to tell. Kurt seemed lukewarm about it at best, and my parents said “congratulations”, but that was all. The only one who seemed excited was my sister, but she was halfway across the world and couldn’t even give me a hug. What I was watching is how it should be when you’re announcing you’re bringing a baby into the world.